Netflix on trial: A man asks for a million dollars when he sees a photo of himself in a documentary

One million dollars. That is the amount that a Kentucky man is asking Netflix, after finding a photo of himself (not transferred to the platform) in one of the documentaries in his catalog. This is ‘The Backpacker with the Axe’, which follows the story of Caleb McGillvary, a hiker who rose to fame after defending a woman from an attack on a hiking trail, and who was later sentenced for the murder of the lawyer of New Jersey, Joseph Galfy.

Taylor Hazlewood, a Kentucky neonatal nursery, filed a lawsuit against Netflix, after discovering, astonished, one of his Instagram photos being used in one of the passages of the documentary. As he explains, he was never aware that it was going to be put to commercial use, nor did he receive any communication about its use in the audiovisual piece.

As reported Varietythe exposure of various photos of Hazlewood holding an axtaken from his personal Instagram account, which were accompanied by an audio that said: ‘cold-blooded killer’; a text that read: ‘no one can be trusted’; in addition to other photos of the convicted, Caleb Lawrence McGillvary.

Hazlewood has assured that it is a photo that was taken in June 2019, holding a friend’s ax, because it reminded him of “your favorite childhood book“, Gary Paulsen’s novel, ‘The Axe’. In fact, the same thing could be read in the original text that accompanied the image: “‘The Axe’ by Gary Paulsen.“

The million dollar petition is intended to cover the damages that this documentary has caused him. “The event has caused damage to your reputation, stress, anxiety and anguish“, states the legal document. In addition, this would have resulted in an ongoing fear of losing future employment or relationships, due to the false belief that he is dangerous or cannot be trusted.

“Mr. Hazlewood has never been contacted by Netflix or by anyone involved with the film, in relation to the original context of his photograph or exposing the use of it,” the lawyer for the affected person, Angela Buchanan, shared with Variety. “Due to the lack of due diligence on the part of those who took and used the photograph of Mr. Hazlewood and placed him next to a convicted murderer, Mr. Hazlewood is in constant fear of the impact the film will have on his personal relationships, his job and his overall reputation.“

The case is currently being investigated and the platform has refused to make any statements about it.